This invention is directed to an alignment system for assuring correct alignment between the spindle, table, table miter slot, saw blade, rip fence and miter gauges in table saws, chop saws and the like so that the saws can be accurately set up to make clean accurate cuts. The system is useful for aligning and calibrating various equipment with tables, spindles, rip fences and miter gauges and miter slots where the machine may employ a circular cutting or abrasive blade.
In woodworking and other crafts where a circular saw blade is used in cutting, the true running of the blade on a plane at a right angle to the spindle axis is necessary. Once the saw blade is rotating on an axis and running in a plane, the positioning of other saw parts can be accomplished with respect to the blade. In a table saw, the table must be at a right angle to that plane, and the table slot must be parallel to that plane. The table fence must be parallel to that plane, while the miter gage running in the table groove must be at a right angle to the plane.
Many attempts have been made to align and calibrate the various surfaces and guides of table saws, but most of these attempts have focused on only one or two of the required adjustments. They must all be addressed and solved in order to have accurate and safe running machinery. In the past, setting up the table saw has been very time-consuming and filled with a large amount of trial and error. As a result, the most successful alignment has been done by craftsmen who have had many years of experience. However, equipment of this type does not stay in adjustment while it is at work because the equipment is hard-working and is subject to heavy loads and constant pounding from the lumber that it has to cut, cross cut, rip and dado.
There is a need for equipment which permits one who is not particularly skilled in the art to adequately align and calibrate table saws and the like to their optimum adjustment. The procedure must be easy to accomplish and must allow the operator to adjust, tune and calibrate the saw quickly and accurately. The present invention is directed to aligning, calibrating and tuning up all aspects and elements of table saws and the like.
In order to aid in the understanding of this invention, it can be stated in essentially summary form that it is directed to a machine alignment system which is comprised of a substantially planar alignment plate, which occupies the position of the saw blade to provide a reference surface equivalent to the plane of rotation of the saw blade. A slide bar is sized and configured for smooth running in the table slot. The slide bar carries a dial indicator thereon so that the table slot may be made parallel to the plane of the alignment plate and, from thence, the fence may be made parallel to the table slot. With these machine alignment system components and a machinist""s square, a table saw may be accurately adjusted.
It is, thus, a purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a machine alignment system which is simple to use. Substitution of the planar alignment plate for the saw blade is easy to accomplish, and the planar alignment plate provides a much longer and smoother reference surface and a much taller surface than the saw blade against which measurement and calibration can be made.
It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a flat surface on the planar alignment plate to measure parallelism, squareness and angles desired both in the bevel and the miter mode.
It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a method for measuring and setting up the planar alignment plate so that the table slot may be parallel thereto and for positioning the saw table surface so that it is perpendicular to the plane of the planar alignment plate.
It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a structure by which the planar alignment plate may be substituted for the saw blade in setting the various components of a table saw to the correct position to provide accuracy in setting the table and table slot with respect to the saw blade in the position desired.
It is another purpose and advantage to provide a machine alignment system which includes setting the miter gage to any precise desired angle by employing the planar alignment plate which represents the plane of the saw blade and setting the miter gage with respect thereto.